I would like to make you aware of another game called Saga of Ryzom.

Free Trial here :
http://www.ryzom.com/newcomer/game-d...et_language=en

Ryzom has an unlimited Free Trial, but there is a level cap and you are confined to the newbie island, but it is an interesting trial and the full game is as cheap as chips...about 5 quid.

Saga of Ryzom is one of the most beautifuil games graphically, realeased about the same time as WoW and EQ2, it fell between those two stools (medical students will get the (anal)ogy), but rises above them in many ways IMO .

It has a couple of immediately noticible differences to other MMO's, The RAID engine can host a multitude of mobs/players with never a stutter. Also, it has an eco system, where carnivore mobs, attack herbivores, while killing time between player executions

Ryzom has PvP and PvE in spades, the PvE is astounding, the range of mobs drop mats that are used in crafting, no weapon drops here, crafters here are practically revered, you get XP for actual crafting, as opposed to eg. Lineage, where your crafting XP is dictated by your fighting prowess.

PvP is pretty extrodinary, You can tag yourself as being available for PvP, you have tagged PvP, where you can attack/be attacked by a similarly tagged player.

You can have consentual PvP, where you can challenge/be challenged for a duel.

Outposts, you can PvP for control of outposts (think Lineage Castle Sieges), which provide many benefits for the controlling guilds.

It has a very deep lore factor that covers four races and their interaction through two religions. The races inhabit various different countries :

Fyros = Sahara Desert
Zora = Jungle, but with a winter season, akin to russian winter.
Tryker - Think Kevin Costner's Waterworld (without the turkey factor).
Matis = English countryside.

The game has seasons that govern weather and materials that can be harvested.

I would like to illustrate this review with some screenies of my trip through the planet called ATYS

This is a Boss called Aen, we found her by accident, she drops a very high quality suit of gold armour, we kept it secret for a few weeks, and got a bunch of armour sets before word got out that she existed.

http://publish.hometown.aol.com/guit...with%20aen.jpg


This should give you an idea of the size of some of the mobs!, and yes there are bigger ones

http://publish.hometown.aol.com/guit...incherboss.jpg


This is one of my favourite mobs, they are sort of like baboons and move around in troupes, they have a great animation and use melee and fire spells to attack, We have an alliance with this particular tribe.

http://publish.hometown.aol.com/guit...age/frahar.jpg


There are some limited edition bosses , these appear about every so often, guarded by a host of smaller versions of themselves called minions, you have to kill their minions before you get to them, they drop special materials for the guilds crafters, for making armour/weapons etc.


http://publish.hometown.aol.com/guit...ge/ocyketh.jpg

Some bosses have a name as opposed to the breed of mob they belong to, Fimpon is one, he lumbers around the desert like a dinosaur, eats grass fruit etc. Sometimes the Carnivores (There's an Eco-System in the game) attack him and he totally rampages all over their ass

I hated killing him, but theres an inter guild comp. to see who can kill the most named bosses.

http://hometown.aol.com/fiachthehunt...eenshot003.jpg

This is an area called Underspring, it's part of The Prime Roots (the toughest area in the game, but the best crafting materials are harvested there, the warriors go there and protect the harvesters during certain seasons. The area is a total PvP zone, you can do no wrong here.

http://hometown.aol.com/fiachthehunt...eenshot005.jpg

This is part of our guild, we have events at weekends where we punch our way into new continents and get warp points (like the gatekeepers, but you have to physically visit a place before you can warp there again)

http://n.domaindlx.com/kerafyrm/trip1.JPG


'Cos we is L33t we sometimes hunt in our boxer shorts LOL!, There are different types of melee in Saga of Ryzom, 2 Hand, 1 Hand and Close Combat (daggers or bare fists), sometimes we will go out with just daggers or no armour and kill mobs (impresses the heck out of newer players!)

http://garcia.users.whitehat.dk/screenshot041.jpg


I couldn't believe it, The Uber-Mages ™ decided to throw a Fancy Dress Party, I was invited (as the Token Melee Person), So, off I went to the fancy dress hire company to get something suitable....
"Do you have anything with a hint of Ryzom and a little dash of desert?"
"Huh?" The little man behinfd the counter asked.
I looked at him, wondering if I would be able to reach him with my 2 Hand Stavon Sword and spill his gut's out on the floor of his miserable little shop...."It's a game, a MMORPG, it has different types of characters, People with Big Swords, Mages running around with their poncy little electric maces...stuff like that"...
"Oh, I see what you mean, funnily enough I had some Mage costumes, but they were all bought earlier to day, I'm afraid you're out of luck".
"Ok, what else have you got?" I grunted at the dozy little twerp.
"Well...we do have one costume left, it's from a MMORPG called Star Wars Galaxies"
"It better not be a darned EWOK costume!" i shouted loudly, my anger beginning to show.
"Um....no, not exactly, It's C3PO actually"
"I dont bloody believe it, you have a costume that's actually worse than a darned EWOK!"

Anyway, I donned the sh1tty pretend armour and went to the party, guess who bought all the mage costumes? The BLOODY Mages!
They went to their own party dressed as bloody mages, How BLOODY anal can you get!?!

anyway, spot the ODD ONE OUT!

This is the armour that the boss Aen drops

http://publish.hometown.aol.com/guit...eenshot025.jpg


Anyway thats about it for now

See Ya!